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Blount County, Tennessee
Blount County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 123,010. The county seat is Maryville, which is also the county's largest city. Blount County is included in the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area. History What is today Blount County was for many thousands of years Indian territory, passed down to the Cherokee tribe that claimed the land upon the arrival of white settlers in the late 18th century. Shortly thereafter, on July 11, 1795, Blount County became the tenth county established in Tennessee, when the Territorial Legislature voted to split adjacent Knox and Jefferson counties. The new county was named for the governor of the Southwest Territory, William Blount, and its county seat, Maryville, was named for his wife Mary Grainger Blount. This establishment, however, did little to settle the differences between white immigrants and Cherokee natives, which was, for the most part, not accomplished until an 1819 treaty.About Blount County Blount County official website Like many East Tennessee counties, Blount County was opposed to secession on the eve of the Civil War. In Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession referendum on June 8, 1861, Blount Countians voted against secession by a margin of 1,766 to 414.Oliver Perry Temple, East Tennessee and the Civil War (R. Clarke Company, 1899), p. 199. Residents of pro-Union Cades Cove and pro-Confederate Hazel Creek (on the other side of the mountains in North Carolina) regularly launched raids against one another during the war.Durwood Dunn, Cades Cove: The Life and Death of An Appalachian Community (University of Tennessee Press, 1988), pp. 134-136. Throughout its history the boundaries of Blount County have been altered numerous times, most notably in 1870 when a large swath of western Blount was split into Loudon and portions of other counties. Also, the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1936, while not affecting the legal boundaries of Blount County, has significantly impacted the use of southeastern Blount County.Lansford, D., and D. Waterworth. "Blount County History," TNGenWeb Project Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water. The foothills of the Appalachian Mountains determine much of Blount County's landscape, with a segment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park extending into southeastern Blount County. In addition to the dominant mountains, the Little Tennessee River flows through the county and forms several man-made lakes created by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Bull Cave, is located inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 750 feet southwest of Rich Mountain Gap. It is the deepest cave in Tennessee, with a total depth of 924 feet. It is also a significantly long cave, with 2.3 miles of surveyed passages. Bull Cave is closed to the public. Bull Cave is an exceptionally dangerous cave, due to many deep drops that require rope to negotiate and the cold, wet conditions that are encountered.Larry E. Matthews, "Caves of Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains", 2008, ISBN 978-1-879961-30-2, pages 171-173. Adjacent counties *Knox County, Tennessee - north *Sevier County, Tennessee - east *Swain County, North Carolina - south *Graham County, North Carolina - southwest *Monroe County, Tennessee - southwest *Loudon County, Tennessee - west Geographical features *Great Smoky Mountains *Chilhowee Mountain *Thunderhead Mountain *Gregory Bald *Lake in the Sky *Look Rock *Fort Loudoun Lake *Chilhowee Lake *Little River *Little Tennessee River National protected areas * Appalachian Trail (part) * Foothills Parkway (part) * Great Smoky Mountains National Park (part) State protected areas * Foothills Wildlife Management Area * Sam Houston Schoolhouse (state historic site) * Kyker Bottoms Refuge * Tellico Lake Wildlife Management Area (part) * Whites Mill Refuge Economy Most of the early European-American settlers were of little means; they were subsistence farmers throughout the early years of the county's establishment. The first industry to make its mark on Blount County, as in other neighboring counties, was that of lumber. It was the massive development of this industry in the mountains of east Blount that, in part, led to the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It includes the southeastern portion of the county. Today manufacturing has replaced lumber in importance, with over 100 manufacturing plants located in the county. Denso Manufacturing Tennessee Inc., a division of Denso Global, is the county's largest employer, with about 3,000 employees."DENSO Plant 203 is a key marker in 20-year history," The Maryville-Alcoa Daily Times, April 7, 2008"Denso Tennessee names new president," The Knoxville News-Sentinel, April 1, 2008 Government The following list consists of the current elected members of the Blount County government:Blount County, National Association of Counties website *Commissioners: Tonya Burchfield, Tab Burkhalter, Rick Carver, Mike Caylor, Gary Farmer, Jim Folts, Ronald French, Roy Gamble, Tom Greene, Brad Harrison, Mark Hasty, Scott Helton, Gerald Kirby, Holden Lail, Peggy Lambert, Mike Lewis, Kenneth Melton, Jerome Moon, Monika Murrell, Steve Samples, and Gordon Wright Demographics 2012 Estimate }} data]] As of the census of 2000, there were 105,823 people, 42,667 households, and 30,634 families residing in the county. The population density was 190 people per square mile (73/km²). There were 47,059 housing units at an average density of 84 per square mile (33/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.73% White, 2.91% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. 1.06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 42,667 households out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% are classified as non-families by the United States Census Bureau. Of the 42,667 households, 1,384 are unmarried partner households: 1,147 heterosexual, 107 same-sex male, 130 same-sex female. 24.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.88. In the county, the population was spread out with 22.80% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.80 males. However, these data are distorted by female longevity. As verified by 2000 U.S. Census, for every 100 females under 65 there were 98.7 males, for every 100 females under 55 there were 99.5 males, and for every 100 females under 20 there were 105 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,862, and the median income for a family was $45,038. Males had a median income of $31,877 versus $23,007 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,416. About 7.30% of families and 9.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.30% of those under age 18 and 9.10% of those age 65 or over. Infrastructure Parks In addition to the federally operated Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which draws many visitors to the county each year, Blount County operates numerous smaller community parks and recreation centers, primarily in the cities of Alcoa and Maryville. Some of these facilities include:Maryville-Alcoa-Blount County Parks & Rec website *Amerine Park (Maryville) *Bassell Courts (Alcoa) *Bicentennial Park (Greenbelt)(Maryville) *Eagleton Park (Maryville) *Everett Athletic Complex (Maryville) *Everett Park/Everett Senior Center (Maryville) *Howe Street Park (Alcoa) *Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (Alcoa) *Louisville Point Park (Louisville) *Oldfield Mini Park (Alcoa) *Pearson Springs Park (Maryville) *Pole Climbers Athletic Fields (Alcoa) *Rock Garden Park (Alcoa) *Sandy Springs Park (Maryville) *John Sevier Park/Pool (Maryville) *Springbrook Park/Pool (Alcoa) *Richard Williams Park (Alcoa) Education Public schools in Blount County are part of the Blount County Schools system, with the exception of schools in the cities of Maryville and Alcoa, both of which operate separate, independent school systems. Private schools located in the county include: Maryville Christian School;Maryville Christian School websiteMillard, B. "Maryville Christian welcomes record class," The Maryville-Alcoa Daily Times, Sept. 17, 2006 Montessori Middle School (opening in 2009Tucker, M. "New Montessori Middle construction progressing," The Maryville-Alcoa Daily Times, April 15, 2008); New Horizon Montessori School and Clayton-Bradley STEM school (2013). Blount County is home to two post-secondary educational institutions: Maryville College, in downtown Maryville, and a satellite campus of Knoxville-based Pellissippi State Technical Community College, referred to as Pellissippi State Technical Community College, Blount County Campus. Transportation Paratransit Blount County is served by the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency's Public Transit system. ETHRA, as it is commonly referred to, operates over sixteen counties in eastern Tennessee, and is headquartered in the nearby city of Loudon. The service offers residents of any of the counties covered by ETHRA door-to-door pickup transportation across its service area by request only.ETHRA homepage Airports TYS, McGhee Tyson Airport Highways *Interstate highways **Interstate 140 (Pellissippi Parkway) *U.S. highways **US Route 129 (Airport Hwy, Alcoa Hwy, Hwy 411 South & Calderwood Hwy) **US Route 321 (Lamar Alexander Pkwy & Wears Valley Road) **US Route 411 (Broadway Ave & Sevierville Road) **US Route 441 (Chapman Highway) *State highways **Tennessee State Route 33 (Old Knoxville Hwy, Broadway Ave & Hwy 411 South) **Tennessee State Route 35 (Sevierville Road, Washington Street & North Hall Road) **Tennessee State Route 72 **Tennessee State Route 73 (Lamar Alexander Pkwy & Wears Valley Road) **Tennessee State Route 115 (Airport Hwy, Alcoa Hwy, Hwy 411 South & Calderwood Hwy) **Tennessee State Route 162 (Pellissippi Parkway) *Secondary Routes **Tennessee State Route 71 (Chapman Highway) **Tennessee State Route 73 Scenic (Lamar Alexander Pkwy & Little River Road) **Tennessee State Route 333 (Topside Road, Louisville Road, Quarry Rd & Miser Station Road) **Tennessee State Route 334 (Louisville Road) **Tennessee State Route 335 (William Blount Drive, Hunt Road & Old Glory Road) **Tennessee State Route 336 (Montvale Road, Six Mile Road & Brick Mill Road) **Tennessee State Route 429 (Airbase Road) **Tennessee State Route 446 (Foothills Mall Drive) **Tennessee State Route 447 *US Park Service Roads **Foothills Parkway **Little River Road **Laurel Creek Road **Cades Cove Loop Road Communities s.]] Cities *Alcoa *Friendsville *Louisville *Maryville *Rockford *Townsend Unincorporated * Alnwick * Binfield * Clover Hill * Cold Springs * Dry Valley *Eagleton Village (CDP) *Happy Valley * Kinzel Springs * Laws Chapel * Melrose * Mentor * Mint *Seymour (CDP; partially in Sevier County) * Six Mile * Sunshine * Tallassee * Walland (CDP) * Wildwood (CDP) Former communities *Cades Cove *Calderwood *Tremont Further reading *Inez Burns (1995). History of Blount County, Tennessee. Windmill Publications. See also *Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center *National Register of Historic Places listings in Blount County, Tennessee References External links *Official site *Blount County Chamber of Commerce *TNGenWeb *Blount County on FamilySearch Wiki – genealogical resources *Tennessee Department of Transportation Map of Blount County *''The Daily Times'' *Blount County Fire Dept * Category:Blount County, Tennessee Category:1795 establishments in the United States Category:Tennessee counties Category:Knoxville metropolitan area Category:Settlements established in 1795 Category:Counties of Appalachia